Walking through the dairy aisle of any supermarket these days is overwhelming – there are rows and rows of varieties of yogurt. The abundance, while a great sign of people embracing healthy snacks, can be confusing. There’s various flavours, fat percentages, and types. How do you know what to choose?
My catering company, Rose Reisman Catering, was trying a variety of brands for our clients until we found we hit a home run when we began using iögo to make our yogurt parfaits, muesli, sauces, dressings and marinades. Already knowing it was a great product, I jumped at the chance to try iögo’s new re-sealable bags. As someone who devours yogurt, especially Greek yogurt, and is always looking for lighter ways to cook, these large bags are fantastic to have on hand. The re-sealable cap prevents any spilling or waste. It fits easily onto any shelf in your refrigerator, and to top it off it’s recyclable.
Some of the reasons why I love Greek yogurt are that it’s low in fat and an excellent source of protein and calcium. In iögo’s Greek Vanilla 2% yogurt there is 15 g of protein per ¾ cup, which gives me a quarter of my daily needs, meaning I can cut back on other animal sources of protein such as beef and chicken. If I want to increase the sweetness, all I need to do is add some fresh fruit and a few tsp of honey or maple syrup.
In addition to being low cal and versatile, yogurt can also offer up many nutritional benefits, one of those being probiotics. Gut health is practically an everyday term these days – good bacteria in our digestive tract disappears because of environmental toxins, antibiotics and processed foods, and consuming probiotics helps to increase our “good” gut bacteria, and combat the “bad.” Iögo has both Vanilla and Strawberry flavours in their Probio pouches.
For a simple, healthy breakfast or snack, a yogurt parfait is a fast and delicious option. All you need is a fruit-flavoured yogurt, like iögo’s Original Strawberry yogurt, and add berries, toasted nuts or granola. This is a low calorie and low fat breakfast, with very few carbs compared to a bagel or muffin.
Did you know yogurt can be used in cooking and baking? For my delicious banana bread, I used iögo Greek Vanilla 2% yogurt to replace the sour cream that would be traditionally used. I’ve found I can replace up to half the fat with the yogurt, boosting the nutrition and taste of the recipe. Check out my Banana Bread recipe below!
Rose’s Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Makes 8 servings
1 large ripe banana, mashed (about ½ cup)
¼ cup non-hydrogenated margerine
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup iögo’s Greek Vanilla 2% yogurt
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1⁄3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Chocolate drizzle (optional)
3 Tbsp semisweet chocolate chips (1 oz)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat an 8- × 4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Using a whisk or an electric mixer, combine the banana, oil, sugar, egg, vanilla and yogurt in a large bowl until smooth.
- In another bowl, combine both flours, baking powder and baking soda. With a wooden spoon, stir the dry mixture into the banana mixture until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing into 8 slices.
- Chocolate drizzle: Melt the chocolate in a microwave oven for 2 minutes on Defrost. Stir until smooth and drizzle over the loaf.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Make ahead Bake up to 2 days before or freeze for up to 1 month.
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by iögo, who provided the product to try, but all views are my own.
